Improved buckle



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

IMPROVED BUCKLE.

Specication forming part of Letters Patent No. 50,673, dated October'31, 1865.

T0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY AscHENBAcH, of Washington city, District ofColumbia, have invented a new and Improved Buckle; and I do herebydeclare that the following' is a full, clear, and exact descriptionthereof', refence being had to the accompanying drawings, making a partof this specification, in which* Figure l is a perspective view of myim- Yproved buckle, showing the outside of it as it would appear whenapplied to straps. Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional view of the buckleholdinga strap. Fig. 3 is an enlarged view of the back ofthe buckle.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the threefigures.

This invention relates to an improvement on that class of buckles whichare constructed without tongues that require the straps to beperforated, or spurs that perforate the straps, and which depend fortheir holding properties upon one portion binding hard upon the strap tocontine and prevent it from slipping.

The object of my invention is to constructa buckle of two pieces ofmetal pivoted together, one piece forming an ornamental shield andserving as a means for attaching one end of a strap permanently to it,and the other piece serving as a lever and clamp for receiving the endof a strap, and holding it rmly against a curved shoulder at the back ofthe ornamental shield, as will be hereinafter described.

To enable others skilled in the art to understand my invention, I willproceed to describe it.

In the accompanying drawings, A represents a plate or shield which isfirst stamped out of a piece of sheet-metal and then struck up into theform shown in Fig. 2 by means of suitable dies. The stamp which-cuts outthe shield A leaves an oblong slot, b, at one end to receive a strap, towhich the buckle is permanently attached, as shown in Figs. l and 2. Twospurs, c c, are also formed on the edges of the shield A, directlyopposite each other, in this operation of stamping. The dies to whichthe shield is subjected after it is removed from the stamping-press forma curved shoulder at t by bending the plate or shield abruptly'iln wardand then outward. These dies also curve the entire plate, as shown inFig. 2.

If desirable, machinery may be constructed which will cut out the plateA and form the rounded shoulder at a at one and the same operation.

B represents a loop or clamp, which is made of a flat strip of metal ofa suitable length, having its ends bent at right angles to itself andperforated so as to receive the pins c c on the edges of the shield A,by means of which the loop B is pivoted to this shield. Informing theloop B its ends are bent slightly backward so that its holding-bar p,which extends across the plate or shield, will incline toward theshoulder a, against which its edge bears, as shown in Fig. 2. The Widthof this bar is such that its outer edge, t', will project beyond theshoulder a so that the strap, which is passed over and beneath this bar,will draw upon its upper edge, and thus force the lower edge of the barfirmly against that portion ot' the strap which is between it and theshoulder a, and not only does the drat'ton the strap C cause the bar tobite this strap and hold it firmly, but the draft on the strap C', owingto the peculiar curved form of the shield A, will force the shoulder (tthereof toward the bar of the loop B, and thus the end of strap C isconfined between two clamping-jaws in such manner that the greater thedraft upon the straps the firmer will be the bite and the more securewill be the hold. Should the loop B be applied to a ilat plate without ashoulder formed on it, the line of draft of the straps C C wouldcoincide with the axis of motion of the loop, and there would be no holdupon the loose strap, but by curving the shield so as to form a shoulderat a, the line of draft on the straps will not intersect the axis ofmotion of the loop B, and consequently the free end of this loop will bedrawn firmly against the shoulder, thus forming a kind of self-actingnippers.

One great advantage of my improved buckle, besides security andsimplicity, is its great strength. There is no open frame in my buckleto become broken, but instead thereof' a plate is used, which forms ashield or cover Patent, is-

The buckle substantially as herein described,

to wit: constructed with :L convexed portion, a, and with a pivotedloop, B, which has u holding-bar, p. formed on it so as to bind upon thestrap, as shown, lall substantially as described, and for the purposeset forth.

HENRY ASGHENBAGH.

Witnesses z R. T. CAMPBELL, EDW. SOHAFER.

